Which of the Big Three (Stacy Lewis, Suzann Pettersen and Inbee Park) will have the biggest 2014?

Photo Gallery

PHOTOS: Tracy Wilcox's best of 2013

View a variety of images that reflect the year of Golfweek's Director of Photography, Tracy Wilcox.

Baldry: Stacy Lewis. The pressure that comes with trying to defend at the first three majors will be too much for Inbee Park to overcome. She’ll be mentally exhausted from the run-ups and the high expectations. Lewis didn’t win Rolex Player of the Year, but that Vare Trophy award tells us she played some of the best golf of her life. She’ll be confident heading into ’14 and ready to pounce. Still not convinced Suzann Pettersen will allow herself to play to her potential. It’s a head game for her.

Williams: Among that contingent, Inbee Park seems the most steady – or maybe the most unconscious (a good quality in golf!). Park has the perfect temperament for the game, and I think her three major victories this season did wonders for her confidence. She might not chase another Grand Slam next season (or maybe ever again – winning the first three majors in a season is a very big deal), but I believe she’ll be the player to beat again in 2014. It will all depend on her putting, and whether it remains as solid as it was in 2013.

• • •

Will the Pinehurst experiment be good for the women’s game?

Baldry: LPGA players have many legitimate concerns. The overriding sentiment among the big names on tour is that the USGA should have let the ladies go first. The traffic from the men’s Open and the toll the course will take puts the women at a disadvantage from the start. For example, the divots taken by PGA Tour players are significantly larger than those taken by the women. Will the media stay on a second week for the women? Will the fans? Too bad they can’t take a mulligan on this one.

Williams: For the sake of the sport, I’d like to see this one go off without a hitch, but there are probably too many variables. Hard to imagine Pinehurst won’t be completely trampled by the time the women arrive, and weather delays (read: Monday finish) could present a major scheduling problem. It was a good idea in theory, but in practice, the women get the short end of the stick on this one.

• • •

Lydia Ko won her first professional title in her second pro start. What can we expect from the 16-year-old in her rookie season?

Baldry: Is it too much to say she might end the year at No. 1? She’s 16, already has five professional titles to her credit and is ranked No. 4. She will have to make some adjustments playing a bigger schedule, but the adrenaline and the freshness of it all will push her through the season. While Ko isn’t likely to end the year on top, there’s sure to be a great highlight reel along the way. 2014 worldwide victory total: Two.

Williams: The little “a” won’t appear beside Ko’s name anymore, but I don’t see much reason to think anything else will change for Ko’s first professional season. At 16, Ko is carefree, competitive, and really talented. She figured out how to win in a professional field almost immediately. And what kid wouldn’t want to play for thousands of dollars? The money is just a bonus for her at this point, not her livelihood. There’s no pressure there.

• • •

Who is on the verge of a monster year in 2014?

Photo Gallery

PHOTOS: College Women 2013

Check out images of some of the top women college golfers in 2013.

Baldry: Shanshan Feng. Watching Feng play down the stretch, one can’t help but wonder if she even knows she’s leading the tournament. There’s an effortlessness about Feng that suggests she has the kind of mindset needed to win scores of titles. Feng hated to see the season come to an end after going 1-2-T8-1 in her last four events. And who can blame her?

Williams: Lexi Thompson seemed to grow up a lot this year after two LPGA victories. She carried herself well at the Solheim Cup, and a partnership with Stacy Lewis there was good for her. At 18, Thompson is coming into her own, and could be a much bigger factor in 2014. That would be a good thing, considering the number of followers Thompson has attracted with her youth, bright wardrobe and big smile.

• • •

Why should fans tune in to watch the LPGA’s new International Crown?

Williams: Because it’s a team format, and that’s something not often seen in professional golf. The tournament allows for eight teams to go head-to-head instead of just two, like at the Solheim Cup. It certainly is cause to be patriotic. Cue the face paint.

Baldry: Because countries will be going head to head, which means America’s best can take on South Korea’s best for ultimate bragging rights. With no captains! The points system will likely confuse players, fans and media. But there could be great drama as players decide among themselves who to put out for a playoff or the order of their lineups. While the eight countries have qualified, the actual teams won’t be finalized until the week of the Kraft Nabisco Championship. Countries that are in: South Korea, Japan, Australia, Taiwan, Spain, Sweden, Thailand and the United States. Let’s hope there’s great drama this first time around and that fans show up to see it.

A. Lee among pack of collegians headed to LPGA

Nobody handed Cheyenne Woods an LPGA card. She earned it the old-fashioned way, playing on developmental tours to earn her stripes and then grinding over a 3-footer for par on her 90th hole of LPGA Q-School to realize a lifelong dream.

Lee's solid play could bring UCLA career to a close

Cheyenne Woods showed the kind of resolve it takes to survive LPGA Q-School; One day after posting a head-scratching 79, Woods came to the more forgiving Jones Course at LPGA International and notched seven birdies.

Cheyenne Woods bounces back at LPGA Q-School

Cheyenne Woods bounced back in the third round of LPGA Q-School's final stage with a 67.
(
Mark Sims / LPGA Tour
)

Stacy Lewis swept LPGA postseason honors, winning Rolex Player of the Year, the Vare Trophy and the money title, but she had to share the spotlight with Lydia Ko, who won the CME Group Tour Championship and the CME Race to the Globe bonus check Sunday in Naples, Fla.

Julieta Granada won the first $1 million payout in LPGA history as a rookie in 2006 at the ADT Championship. Funny how Granada has found her way back to the top now that a $1 million prize has returned to the tour.

Granada leads LPGA finale, drama heightens

Julieta Granada, who hasn't won on the LPGA tour since 2006, leads the CME Group Tour Championship by a single shot entering the final round.
(
Associated Press
)

It didn’t take long for Stacy Lewis to start crunching numbers. Moments after she wrapped her post-round interview, Lewis headed to the back of the room to look at a closer breakdown of Race to the Globe scenarios.

For Lewis, LPGA finale all about scenarios

After finishing the third round of the CME Group Tour Championship, Stacy Lewis spent time considering the scenarios that could play out in the final round.
(
Associated Press
)

No one can cause a stir on the red carpet like Michelle Wie. And when she follows an evening of glamor with a smooth 67 to vault up the leaderboard at the CME Group Tour Championship, well, it’s doubly fantastic for the LPGA.

Red-carpet star Wie climbs leaderboard in Naples

Michelle Wie during the Rolex Awards Banquet in Naples. Through 36 holes of the CME Group Tour Championship, Wie is two shots off the lead.
(
Photo Courtesy of LPGA/Gabriel Roux
)